Here is the discussion topic for Law & Order SVU “The Punch List” which aired on Thursday, February 1, 2024. Please feel free to add any feedback you have about this episode in the comments!
What a terrible episode David Krum was ok in his role but it just seemed a complete waste of a viewer's time. Why did Olivia put the bracelet she took off a sex doll in the missing girl's jewelry box ? i mean how wrong was that.
The perp of the week story was good and I was shocked at how David Krumholtz looked. Wow. It fit his character on the show though.
Benson and the whole Maddie thing - not working for me. It feels so awkward and to be honest I think Mariska is doing a little too much chewing on the scenery, you know what I mean? Please end this story quick.
I mean, the bar is in hell given last wk's ep. That said this one wasn't as bad *by comparison*. I wish they left the woman to be a rapist and explored a little more seriously the story of a male victim. I felt it was ambiguous for much of the ep on whether or not the squad saw Ray as a victim. Feels like they were handling him as complicit in his assault.
Still not fully clear on how the show is defining Liv's response to Maddie's disappearance. Given Liv's monologue in the first ep it felt like the impact this unsolved case was having on her- her affect and behavior in ep 2- were meant to demonstrate her heroism and for the viewer to find the whole thing endearing. This wk's ep had aspects that felt like the show was acknowledging that she is in crisis and in need of treatment. I would argue, that in addition to treatment, she needs to be under closer supervision by a senior officer. There was so much over the 3 eps that proved she is not well enough to be managing things on her own.
I will admit bias and say I prefer the angsty, inner turmoil type stuff for characters and can only stomach so much of the fluffy romance stuff like we get with Rollisi. So I'm fine with watching Liv work through complex emotions and how that affects her daily functioning. I am still struggling to understand, though, why this case? It reminds me abt Rollins being given a whole new trauma (being shot for the 2nd time) when there was so much previous trauma that remained unexplored. Olivia has over 25 years of dealing with missing and exploited children so I am less willing to attribute the demise of her mental health to guilt at not being able to be a telepath and figure out Maddie was being kidnapped when she saw her. My mind wants to point to things like abandonment issues that are affecting her judgement. Not that she feels abandoned by Maddie, a stranger, but rather that she can't lose anybody else. Thing is- I think the show's angle is in fact, "Liv has severe guilt abt not being able to be a telepath and figure out Maddie was being kidnapped". I don't think it goes any deeper than that and so it's frustrating watching this inner turmoil of hers. Even tho I'm inclined to the heavy stuff more than the fluffy stuff Im finding this whole Maddie story exhausting. Just 3 episodes in and I'm not looking fwd to this running all season. (PART 1/2)
Liv's fixation on Maddie's mom seems tantamount to her fixation on Maddie herself. Having Eileen Flynn's photo on her caller ID was an eye-raiser lol. She leaves an outcry interview to run to E's side and at a pivotal pt in said interview! She has just clarified for Tess that she is a victim saying, "Tess, you didn't rape anyone. You were raped." And then she bails!! She ends up taking a personal day to be with Eileen highlighting that this was being done for personal reasons rather than professional. At home where she tucks the mom in for a nap is where I had to again consider- are they presenting Liv as an ideal hero, walking someone thru their pain or are we meant to understand this as someone who is spiralling? I also wonder if this is just filler info or if this will lead to smthg like when Noah's biological grandma kidnapped him. I can see Maddie's mom turning on Liv at some pt esp if Maddie isn't found alive.
On a separate note Bruno and Fin were great as a team in this ep. I like this duo. I agree w all who hv been saying they need to get some more women detectives in this almost entirely male squad (ADA included). That said, I hope we don't lose Bruno to make rm for that. I like his energy on this show.
Resisting the urge to go into a lengthy diatribe abt the EMDR therapy referenced at the end. Instead I will just say I hope this does not end up being in the same vein as Rollins doing a yoga retreat to 'get over' her rape trauma or wearing a bullet round her neck to resolve the trauma of being shot. EMDR is not a magic wand. I'll stop there.
Like, I said after last wk's ep this one isn't so bad but I miss when SVU was must-watch tv. Now I get to it when I get to it. I was ready to tap out after last wk's ep. After this last one I'm willing to give it a couple more before I decide if to give up on the rest of the season. I just hate hate-watching and being so deeply frustrated w the show long after an ep ends. (PART 2/2)
6 comments:
What a terrible episode David Krum was ok in his role but it just seemed a complete waste of a viewer's time. Why did Olivia put the bracelet she took off a sex doll in the missing girl's jewelry box ? i mean how wrong was that.
The perp of the week story was good and I was shocked at how David Krumholtz looked. Wow. It fit his character on the show though.
Benson and the whole Maddie thing - not working for me. It feels so awkward and to be honest I think Mariska is doing a little too much chewing on the scenery, you know what I mean? Please end this story quick.
It's an ok episode (definitely better than last week's), but not better than the original's and OC's episodes.
I hope that the Maddie storyline gets resolved because I feel that the longer it gets dragged out, fans are going to tune out of watching the show.
I mean, the bar is in hell given last wk's ep. That said this one wasn't as bad *by comparison*. I wish they left the woman to be a rapist and explored a little more seriously the story of a male victim. I felt it was ambiguous for much of the ep on whether or not the squad saw Ray as a victim. Feels like they were handling him as complicit in his assault.
Still not fully clear on how the show is defining Liv's response to Maddie's disappearance. Given Liv's monologue in the first ep it felt like the impact this unsolved case was having on her- her affect and behavior in ep 2- were meant to demonstrate her heroism and for the viewer to find the whole thing endearing. This wk's ep had aspects that felt like the show was acknowledging that she is in crisis and in need of treatment. I would argue, that in addition to treatment, she needs to be under closer supervision by a senior officer. There was so much over the 3 eps that proved she is not well enough to be managing things on her own.
I will admit bias and say I prefer the angsty, inner turmoil type stuff for characters and can only stomach so much of the fluffy romance stuff like we get with Rollisi. So I'm fine with watching Liv work through complex emotions and how that affects her daily functioning. I am still struggling to understand, though, why this case? It reminds me abt Rollins being given a whole new trauma (being shot for the 2nd time) when there was so much previous trauma that remained unexplored. Olivia has over 25 years of dealing with missing and exploited children so I am less willing to attribute the demise of her mental health to guilt at not being able to be a telepath and figure out Maddie was being kidnapped when she saw her. My mind wants to point to things like abandonment issues that are affecting her judgement. Not that she feels abandoned by Maddie, a stranger, but rather that she can't lose anybody else. Thing is- I think the show's angle is in fact, "Liv has severe guilt abt not being able to be a telepath and figure out Maddie was being kidnapped". I don't think it goes any deeper than that and so it's frustrating watching this inner turmoil of hers. Even tho I'm inclined to the heavy stuff more than the fluffy stuff Im finding this whole Maddie story exhausting. Just 3 episodes in and I'm not looking fwd to this running all season. (PART 1/2)
Liv's fixation on Maddie's mom seems tantamount to her fixation on Maddie herself. Having Eileen Flynn's photo on her caller ID was an eye-raiser lol. She leaves an outcry interview to run to E's side and at a pivotal pt in said interview! She has just clarified for Tess that she is a victim saying, "Tess, you didn't rape anyone. You were raped." And then she bails!! She ends up taking a personal day to be with Eileen highlighting that this was being done for personal reasons rather than professional. At home where she tucks the mom in for a nap is where I had to again consider- are they presenting Liv as an ideal hero, walking someone thru their pain or are we meant to understand this as someone who is spiralling? I also wonder if this is just filler info or if this will lead to smthg like when Noah's biological grandma kidnapped him. I can see Maddie's mom turning on Liv at some pt esp if Maddie isn't found alive.
On a separate note Bruno and Fin were great as a team in this ep. I like this duo. I agree w all who hv been saying they need to get some more women detectives in this almost entirely male squad (ADA included). That said, I hope we don't lose Bruno to make rm for that. I like his energy on this show.
Resisting the urge to go into a lengthy diatribe abt the EMDR therapy referenced at the end. Instead I will just say I hope this does not end up being in the same vein as Rollins doing a yoga retreat to 'get over' her rape trauma or wearing a bullet round her neck to resolve the trauma of being shot. EMDR is not a magic wand. I'll stop there.
Like, I said after last wk's ep this one isn't so bad but I miss when SVU was must-watch tv. Now I get to it when I get to it. I was ready to tap out after last wk's ep. After this last one I'm willing to give it a couple more before I decide if to give up on the rest of the season. I just hate hate-watching and being so deeply frustrated w the show long after an ep ends. (PART 2/2)
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